Gen, come here!

Once the plan was settled, they immediately decided to split up.

Senku stayed on the outskirts of the village with Kohaku and Chrome, sorting through the raw materials they had mined and planning the equipment they would need to make ramen.

They busied themselves building a simple cooking station.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang took Little Watermelon into the mountains on their own to gather soft plant fibers for new clothes, flowers and herbs for natural dyes, and any useful supplementary materials or medicinal herbs they happened to find.

A breeze rustled through the mountain forest, stirring the branches and leaves. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, scattering tiny, dappled patches of light below.

Their surroundings were peaceful and quiet, with only the sound of their soft footsteps.

Little Watermelon took short little steps, obediently leading the way.

Li Xiang followed leisurely behind him, her gaze drifting over the dense forest around them.

Someone had quietly fixed their gaze on Senku and his companions, who were working nearby.

That watcher was hidden behind a thick clump of bushes, and Li Xiang immediately sensed something was wrong.

Her gaze paused briefly, and a faint smile curled her lips.

Li Xiang gently placed a hand on Little Watermelon in front of her, signaling for him to stay put and behave. Then she lightened her steps and silently circled behind the bushes over the soft fallen leaves.

Behind the bushes, a figure with black-and-white hair was crouching low, poking just a little of his head out.

His eyes darted about, fixed intently on Senku in the distance. So absorbed was he in spying and eavesdropping that he never noticed someone had appeared behind him.

The young man had delicate features and a sly air, radiating shrewdness and smooth-talking charm.

He was none other than Gen Asagiri, the mentalist who excelled at psychological games.

He was secretly considering how to gather information and pass it along to Tsukasa.

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, certain no one had noticed him-

Smack!

A warm palm lightly tapped his shoulder.

Gen Asagiri instantly stiffened, as though someone had flipped his panic switch. He shuddered all over, his heart clenched, and he nearly screamed on the spot.

He whipped around in alarm. When he saw the smiling Li Xiang behind him, disbelief filled his eyes.

"Y-you! When did you get behind me?!"

Still shaken, Gen Asagiri instinctively shrank back.

"How do you walk without making a sound?! Are you even human?"

In all his years of getting by, he had always been the one eavesdropping on other people. This was the first time someone had crept right up on him without him noticing a thing.

Seeing his panic, Li Xiang's eyes filled with even more amusement. She raised an eyebrow and teased him in a thoroughly nasty tone.

"Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt you spying on Senku and doing your little undercover job?"

Gen Asagiri's heart tightened, and his composed expression completely fell apart.

This woman's mind worked in ways that defied all common sense. Ordinary psychological reasoning was useless against her.

He pressed his lips together and said nothing, ready to slip away at the first opportunity.

Seeing his reaction, Li Xiang stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

"Drop the act."

"You came all this way to hide in the woods and spy on Senku, didn't you?"

"Doesn't take much guessing. Tsukasa Shishio sent you here undercover, right?"

Gen Asagiri swallowed, feeling increasingly uncertain. He remained silent, hoping to bluff his way through.

He understood now: the more he said, the more mistakes he would make. Saying less was safer.

He had wanted to play dumb and catch her off guard, but Li Xiang wasn't buying it.

Li Xiang couldn't be bothered wasting time on him either. There was work to do, so she briskly laid out his final options, watching him with a smile.

"All right, all right. I won't waste my breath. You have two choices."

She held up two fingers, her eyes curved in a smile.

"Option one: defect right now and join us."

"There are benefits galore, anything you could want. Food you want to eat, supplies you can use, things you want to learn-as long as we can manage it, we'll give you all of it. You'll live the good life, free and comfortable."

Gen Asagiri instinctively swallowed, slightly tempted.

Senku's side spent every day making delicious food and building things, living easy and carefree lives (bullshit-just wait until they make you produce 200,000 dry-cell manganese batteries). The benefits were plain to see. Anyone would be tempted.

Unable to resist, he asked quietly, "Then... what's option two?"

At his question, Li Xiang's smile instantly turned utterly innocent, and her tone became airy.

But that looked wrong no matter how I looked at it! Were you really just threatening me like this?

"Two? That's much simpler."

"I tie you up. There are plenty of ways to make someone suffer out here in the mountains. You can try every punishment one by one until you wish you were dead."

"Once I've had my fun, I'll bundle you up and toss you into the sea to feed the sharks~"

She drew out the last words softly and sweetly, her smile bright.

An oppressive pressure instantly enveloped him.

A chill ran through Gen Asagiri. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and a layer of cold sweat broke out across his back.

Before he could hesitate, Li Xiang moved. Her hand clamped precisely onto his shoulder, her fingers applying steady pressure that left him unable to exert any strength.

Gen Asagiri went rigid. He struggled with everything he had, but his shoulder wouldn't budge.

His composure shattered instantly. How could he dare hesitate now? His survival instinct surged, and he spoke at lightning speed.

"One! I choose one! I'll defect! I surrender!"

Seriously, feeding me to sharks was way too far-fetched!

Living the good life with Senku was a windfall straight from heaven. Only an idiot would pick the second option and get himself killed!

"See? You should've done that from the start."

Li Xiang raised an eyebrow in satisfaction, released her grip, and hooked his arm instead, her tone casual and relaxed.

"Okay, stop dawdling. Come with me."

Gen Asagiri gave up resisting completely, his expression resigned. He obediently let her hold his arm and half drag, half lead him toward camp, not daring to try anything along the way.

They followed the forest trail and soon returned to the camp, where everyone was busy working.

Senku looked up at the sound, his eyes beneath his tousled bangs lifting slightly as his gaze settled on the newly arrived Gen Asagiri.

"Hmm? Who's this?"

Li Xiang casually shoved Gen Asagiri in front of everyone. "New teammate. Just voluntarily defected from Tsukasa's camp. Free labor, at no extra charge."

Gen Asagiri's mouth twitched uncontrollably. What do you mean, free labor?!

But after a certain someone's vicious threats, he didn't dare object at all. He could only stand there obediently without making a sound.

Senku understood immediately, a trace of amusement flashing through his eyes. "Thanks."

"No big deal."

Li Xiang waved a hand, looking proudly unconcerned. In excellent spirits, she began humming a cheerful little tune.

She turned and walked off, heading back into the mountains to gather materials for making clothes.

Only after watching her disappear into the distance did Gen Asagiri let out a long sigh of relief. His taut nerves finally relaxed, and his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

That was terrifying.

Beside him, Kohaku and Chrome looked utterly bewildered, still unsure what had happened. All they could vaguely sense was that their new teammate looked... a little pitiful.

[Friends, I'm pretty busy this week, so I'll be posting 4,000 Chinese characters a day. Once things settle down, I'll go back to five updates a day!]